Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley says the state is ready to enforce a controversial immigration law set to take effect Sept. 1. (The Birmingham News / Mark Almond)

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley told a crowd in Huntsville today that he is "not backing down" on the state's controversial immigration law.

During a luncheon at the Von Braun Center North Hall, Bentley said he considers illegal immigration a "severe, real problem" that has not been adequately addressed by Congress.

"Anyone who wants to stick their head in the sand and say it's not a real problem, then they are very naive," he said.

Bentley's remarks come as a federal judge in Birmingham weighs arguments from the U.S. Department of Justice and others seeking to block the law's implementation on Sept. 1.

Approved by the Legislature and signed by Bentley in June, it allows local police to detain people suspected of being in the United States illegally, requires public schools to inquire into immigration status of students, makes it a crime for an illegal immigrant to seek work, and makes it a crime to knowingly transport or harbor an illegal immigrant.

Opponents claiming that the law would block churches from providing humanitarian relief to immigrants are "totally off base," Bentley said in response to an audience question.

"We're not trying to stop that."

About 1,000 people turned out to hear Bentley deliver the keynote address at the Huntsville-Madison County Chamber of Commerce's annual Alabama Update Luncheon.

Bentley, a retired Tuscaloosa physician, told the crowd it feels as if he's done seven years of governing during his first seven months in office.

The April 27 tornado outbreak that leveled 15,000-plus homes also damaged hundreds businesses that have yet to reopen. Bentley said that's a major reason for Alabama's 10 percent unemployment rate.

"Tuscaloosa alone in 10 minutes lost 7,500 jobs," he said.

But some affected businesses are starting to bounce back, Bentley said, including a Wrangler Distribution Center that was the main employer in tornado-ravaged Hackleburg.

Earlier this week, the governor's office awarded the Marion County town a $200,000 grant to help cover the cost of energy-efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment and lighting fixtures in a new factory planned by Wrangler's parent company, VF Corp.

"If those (jobs) had disappeared, Hackleburg would have disappeared," Bentley said.